If Donald Trump wins back the presidency, Sonny Perdue is unlikely to run again as Secretary of Agriculture, Feedstuff Daily reports.
Perdue says he has no interest in returning to the federal government, but. It’s a question he gets a lot these days. “I tell everyone I’d rather be married,” he says. He and his wife Mary Ruff have been married for 52 years.
The former two-term governor of Georgia is now chancellor of the University System of Georgia, which Perdue said is the most influential role he has held. As chancellor he is responsible for 345,000 students. The system includes 26 higher education institutions, including the University of Georgia in Athens.
Perdue says he has fond memories of his four years as Agriculture Secretary and maintains a good friendship with current Secretary Tom Vilsack, but believes the old team doesn’t want to interfere with the new.
“It’s their time and they can swing at whatever pitches they want,” Perdue said. “That’s my opinion about the way democracy works.”
Perdue has no regrets about his time as Secretary of Agriculture. He thinks USDA has done some good things during his tenure. If Trump had won the 2020 election, he would have been willing to stay in office if asked.
Looking back, Perdue told Feedstuffs that the most challenging part of the job was assembling a team across the country with expertise in all areas covered by USDA. He credits Trump for giving him the authority to run the department, telling him only to “take care of my farmers and ranchers.”
Perdue isn’t alone in finding life after USDA in higher education. Mindy Brashears, Perdue’s Undersecretary for Food Safety, is currently Associate Vice President of Research at Texas Tech University, where she is also a professor of Food Safety and Public Health.
Perdue, a former Democrat, defeated Democrat Gov. Roy Barnes in 2002 and was re-elected in 2006. He was in office when a Georgia peanut processor was found responsible for a multi-state salmonella outbreak in 2007-2008 that sickened thousands of people became. and was responsible for several deaths.
When President Trump appointed him, Perdue became only the second Secretary of Agriculture from the Deep South. The first was Mike Espy from Mississippi.
Perdue served in the United States Air Force and held the rank of captain upon discharge. He received his Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine (DVR).
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